Australia by Red Nomad OZ
Hay Plain, via Deniliquin, New South Wales

Hunting the Wild Plains Wanderer – Deniliquin, New South Wales

They’d scented fresh blood. And in the deathly silence of twilight as dusk fell over the moonlit plain, I could hear them coming for me. A million manic mosquitoes, and I couldn’t move a muscle. Actually, that’s a lie. I COULD move – but I’d chosen not to. For 3 good reasons. Firstly, listening for the call of the enigmatic[…]

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Port Clinton Sunrise, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

Why Port Clinton is a TOP Aussie Town!

I was once one of the many travellers who, upon driving down the eastern shore of South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula, would pass the Port Clinton turn-off without a second thought. That was my mistake. And theirs. Because it’s only 90 minutes from Adelaide, it’s a great base from which to explore many of the FAAAAABULOUS upper Yorke Peninsula’s attractions AND[…]

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Balls Pyramid, via Lord Howe Island

Basalt, Birds and Balls Pyramid!

‘The current’s running like a cut cat round the island,’ Jack shouted. He fired up Noctiluca‘s powerful 200 horse power engines and guided the eight-metre vessel into the bay. Boat Tour to Ball’s Pyramid If not for the camera in one hand and a convenient strut for balance in another, I’d have high-fived Pilchard. On our first trip three years[…]

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Lake Tutchewop Track

Two Twitchers, Two Nights and Two Thousand Clicks!

If I hadn’t been twitching I would never have gone to Tittybong. And if that’s conjured up a disturbing mental image, keep reading! It’s not quite as perturbing as it sounds!! Or maybe it is … Most Northern Hemisphereans probably won’t understand.  Why would two otherwise sane, normal Australians (that’s a self-assessment, not an oxy-moron) would spend three days driving[…]

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The Secret Lake in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia

TOP Aussie Birding Spot #1 – Somewhere in the Adelaide Hills …

I slowly climbed the hill through the knee high dry grass, each step raising a cloud of dust. Every stick looked like a snake. But that was better than the other way around. The heavy breathing behind me increased. The horse that owned the paddock was getting tetchy. I wondered what he’d do when he found out the camera bag[…]

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Western Treatment Plant with Avalon Airport and You Yangs in the distance, Victoria, Australia

The Aussie Scenic Public Loo that WASN’T!

I’ve got Pilchard to thank for some of our more obscure travel destinations. If not for him, I wouldn’t be out birding. And if not for birding, I wouldn’t have been in this marvellously scenic spot near Werribee on the outskirts of Melbourne’s west! As I photographed the sunlight glinting across the waters of Port Philip Bay to Portarlington, and[…]

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Roebuck Bay, Broome Bird Observatory

6 Random Moments at the Broome Bird Observatory!

1 The Gun Birder* Driving a bouncing 4WD with 4 passengers along a rough station track in search of Australia’s rarest bird wasn’t cramping the gun birder’s style one bit. All I could see were the vast, rolling plains of grass and samphire stretching to the horizon against an endless blue sky. But our driver and guide on the Broome[…]

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Australian Bustard at Quobba, Western Australia

Save the Poor Bustard!

The superb double entendre of 70’s conservation poster slogan ‘Save the Poor Bustard’ gave my childish mind what I can now identify as a salacious thrill. It could actually be repeated without the speaker being accused of swearing!! All the same, it shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise when, after testing the slogan out once or twice, I was[…]

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